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Check the Claim: Does Iceland celebrate Christmas with a book flood?

SKILL: Check the Claim

DIFFICULTY: Simple

SUBJECT(S): Pop Culture

Students will use a keyword search to learn about Jólabókaflóð, an Icelandic Christmastime tradition which sees some residents of the island nation curling up with a book and a cup of hot chocolate on the 24th of December.

Related Lesson

CTRL-F Lesson 3: Check the Claim

Link to Example

Jolabokaflod (TikTok)
Christmas tree made of multi-coloured books, topped with star

Background

Iceland has a rich literary culture. In 2011, its capital, Reykjavik, became UNESCO’s fifth ‘City of Literature’, the first-ever non-English speaking city to receive the title.

Iceland’s literary culture is reflected by its citizens’ affinity for reading. According to some surveys, as many as half of Icelanders read everyday for 30 minutes or more.

BookTok is a subcommunity on TikTok that discusses books and literature. It has been noted for its impact on the sales of certain books discussed by the community. Some bookstores even include ‘Popular on BookTok’ displays into their stores.



About the Example

Teacher note: If you cannot access TikTok, click here to view the video on our YouTube channel.

In this TikTok video, BookTok creator bookhuddle claims that Icelanders celebrate Christmas by gifting books to their loved ones, and then curling up with their new books and a cup of hot cocoa, as part of a tradition called Jolabokaflod, which translates to ‘Christmas book flood’.

We can check this claim using a keyword search (‘Iceland Christmas book flood’), which returns results from sources including Smithsonian Magazine and the World Economic Forum, which confirm that Jólabókaflóð, while not universally observed by Icelanders (and not a literal flood of books), is a popular Christmastime tradition in the island nation.



Activities 

  1. Show students the TikTok video, and ask them to summarize the claim made in it.
  2. Have students check the claim using a keyword search using relevant terms like ‘Iceland Christmas book flood’.
  3. Among the top results is an article from  Smithsonian Magazine, a professional news magazine that covers science, arts and culture. Have your students click into the Smithsonian Magazine article and read the first two paragraphs. Guiding questions:
    • Is the claim mostly true, mostly false, or something else? Explain your reasoning.
    • What additional context does the article give us about the initial claim?


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